{"id":423559,"date":"2026-09-02T04:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T04:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/423559\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T04:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T04:02:16","slug":"joe-milton-clears-first-hurdle-for-potential-dallas-cowboys-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/423559\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Milton Clears First Hurdle For Potential Dallas Cowboys Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"98\">The Dallas Cowboys made another surprising roster move on Monday by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/dallas-cowboys-insider-suggests-team-balked-joe-milton-trade-before-waiving-him\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">waiving quarterback Joe Milton III despite a strong performance<\/a> during the preseason. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9d\">Milton lost the backup <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/onsi\/biggest-dallas-cowboys-questions-after-trimming-roster-to-53\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">quarterback battle to Sam Howell, <\/a>who the Cowboys brought in this offseason as a free agent. It remained unclear who exactly was a step ahead after the preseason finale, but Dallas&#8217; decision to <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9i\">Milton hit the waiver wire with a chance to land with a new team. However, he officially cleared waivers on Tuesday, making him a free agent and opening up the door for a return to Dallas. <\/p>\n<p>Cowboys Would &#8220;Absolutely&#8221; Want to Bring Joe Milton Back<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m1ff7v418k52861vhy.jpg\" alt=\"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III\" title=\"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"9z\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III (10) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Saints at AT&amp;T Stadium.   | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a5\">Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters on Tuesday that Dallas would &#8220;absolutely&#8221; want to bring Milton back should he clear waivers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"aa\">Now, the opportunity is officially there. We will see if Schottenheimer and the Cowboys truly want Milton back as a No. 3 emergency quarterback this season or if the team decides to add another quarterback behind Howell.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"af\">That said, Milton clearing waivers means he doesn&#8217;t have to join Dallas if he doesn&#8217;t want to. But since he wasn&#8217;t claimed, it&#8217;s hard to imagine that any other teams besides the Cowboys are currently interested in adding him to the roster. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ak\">If Dallas comes calling, Milton&#8217;s smartest move would be to return to the Cowboys with little hesitation. <\/p>\n<p>Why Sam Howell Won the Backup QB Job Over Joe Milton<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m1fe12k36pgy4pk0pa.jpg\" alt=\"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Sam Howell\" title=\"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Sam Howell\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"b1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dallas Cowboys quarterback Sam Howell (16) throws the ball during the game between the Cowboys and the Saints at AT&amp;T Stadium.  | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b7\">Schottenheimer told reporters that Howell was &#8220;a little bit better&#8221; when it came to running the offense.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bc\">\u201cWhen we looked at the whole body of work we felt like Sam had done a little bit better of executing the offense,&#8221; Schottenheimer said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bh\">Howell got the start in the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks before Milton started in the second exhibition against the Arizona Cardinals. Howell then got the start in the finale at home against the New Orleans Saints. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bm\">Milton finished the preseason 29 of 43 passing for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He added 12 carries for 14 yards and one rushing touchdown.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"br\">By far his best performance came in Arizona when he went 9 of 13 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns along with a rushing score after the first half. Many fans felt that Milton secured the backup job that night.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bw\">As for Howell, he finished the three-game slate 27 of 40 passing for 314 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c1\">\u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for more free coverage from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on SI<\/a>\u00a0\u2014<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:pointerenter=\"q-B6E_x7cY.js#s_1NOcOpHWmT0\" on:touchstart=\"q-9NH_OQnW.js#s_R8AiGTDeM28\" on:focus=\"q-zLgwM63x.js#s_gxiTM6qMMu8\" on:click=\"q-BJX2VRsE.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"c7\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys made another surprising roster move on Monday by waiving quarterback Joe Milton III despite a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-423559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}